2016 Indy 500 coverage hub: news, SI Vault, video, photos, more

Welcome to SI.com's complete coverage of the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, May 29 (Noon Eastern time; ABC, SN 360; Sirius:212, XM: 209). We will be continually updating this page with stories, galleries, videos of interviews with great drivers of the past and present, and classic features from the SPORTS ILLUSTRATED magazine Vault as well as our companion site The Drive. On race day, join us here as SI racing writers Andrew Lawrence and Tim Tuttle live blog this historic event from Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Galleries

The lineup for Indy's first 500-mile race was led by a convertible pace car (lower right). The photographer? Yes—it's Mr. Henry Ford.

Henry Ford/AP

Billy Knipper (10) passed Billy Liesaw (17) and Bill Endicott (33) as they pulled over to pit. Liesaw, though, wound up the fastest of the Billys, finishing 14th.

Fans were still milling around their own cars in the infield as pole sitter Tommy Milton led the field past the starting line.

AP

The track isn't the only place to find cars during a race: In the Roaring '20s fans parked their Model T's in the infield. Back then the racing surface exposed a while lot more than a yard of bricks-repaving in asphalt was still a decade away, as was swigging dairy for champs. Rookie Louis Meyer, who would later start the ritual when he became the 500's first three-time winner, was a milkless victor in '28.

American Stock/Getty Images

The "paddock" overlooked this straightaway, and in a messy race Billy Arnold broke an axle, Wilbur Shaw went over a wall and Louis Schneider won.

AP

With no traffic to challenge Floyd Roberts at the finish, the started signaled his victory while moving safely toward the middle of the track.

AP

Crowds came out in full force (as well as in full headgear) and saw Mauri Rose win his third, and last, 500. Rose's car is far left at the starting line.

AP

Norm Houser took an infield detour to dodge the trail of fire left by Duke Nalon's crash into the retaining wall. Nalon's injuries knocked him out of racing for two years.

AP

The chassis were different, but the engines remained the same. Troy Ruttman and Rodger Ward pitted a 1952 Kuzma and a '59 Watson, respectively, to tune up their Offys, while Sam Hanks, behind the wheel of a Salih in '57, safely revved his around a retaining all. Another thing they all had in common: They won their races.

IMS Photo

Despite the high casualty rate on the track crowds continued to turn out, enthralled by the ever-increasing speeds of roadsters roaring round the bend.

John G. Zimmerman

Black clouds of gloom hung over the Speedway after the deadly '64 crash, the first time the Indy 500 was halted for an accident. The second was two years later, when no one died, but rookie Jackie Stewart endured heartbreak; he led 40 laps before late mechanical failure ended his title hopes.

Bob Daugherty/AP

Although he was flanked by past winners Bobby Unser and A.J. Foyt (6) at the start of the race, Mario Andretti prevailed to take his first and only checkered flag.

Neil Leifer

Swede Savage was already a darling at Indy, a sunny 26-year-old out of California with loads of speed. He had driven his Eagle-Offenhauser to a qualifying record of 196.580 mph when these photographers descended. Two weeks later, in the 500, Savage was battling for the lead and carry a full tank of gas when he crashed into the inside wall and was thrown, engulfed in flame, across the track. He died 33 days later.

Neil Leifer

Not to be outdone by Al's two titles, Bobby nabbed his splashy second victory after he was leading on the 174th lap and the race was declared over on account of rain.

Lane Stewart

Starting from the third position, Mears (6) led the field fro 119 of the 200 laps, his only Indy victory that did not start from the pole. He won a record six poles at Indy.

Heinz Kluetmeier

Pancho Carter flipped head over tailpipe in practice, sliding on his head for more than 800 feet. Uninjured, he raced (with a new helmet) three weeks later, finishing 27th.

Bill Stalions/AP

Boycotted by many drivers, the first postsplit 500 retained some golden rules-slow down to avoid debris and don't follow the rubber to the wall.

Tom Lynn

The annual tradition of getting the 500 underway by releasing some 30,000 helium-filled balloons (just as the last note of Back Home Again in Indiana is sung) presaged a paradoxical race. It was once full of no-names (many top drivers were in CART) and incomparably rich. The biggest chunk of the record $8.7 million purse went to winner Eddie Cheever Jr., who came from the 17th position for his only 500 victory.

George Tiedemann/GT Images

When Helio Castroneves became the eighth rookie to win the 500, his smiling mug was immortalized in sterling silver alongside every winner since 1936. The 75-year-old Borg-Warner Trophy weighs around 110 pounds and stands about 5' 5", so it's no small thing to hoist. It's also valued at $1.5 million, a nice sum but not as valuable as winning the Indy 500: That, as any driver would say, is priceless.

Robert Laberge/Getty Images

Dan Wheldon, shown here, won the Indy 500 in 2005, marking the first time an Englishman won the storied race since Graham Hill's victory in 1966. In 2011, Wheldon tragically lost his life in a 15-car accident at the IZOD IndyCar World Championship at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.